about our traditional pub and WhiskEy BaR
With authentic Irish and British Isles food made from scratch, a full bar, an extensive Irish and Scottish whisky menu, and a family-friendly atmosphere, McCarthy’s is THE place for a true Celtic experience in the Lehigh Valley. Created to preserve Irish family traditions and memories passed down through generations, it is a perfect place to celebrate life’s special events and everyday happenings.
feel right at home
A Celtic Destination: No Passport Required
Our vision for McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub was to give our guests an authentic experience of the Irish and Celtic culture that they could not find anywhere else in the Lehigh Valley (or elsewhere!). From the freshest homemade Irish food such as a boxty and scones, to our hand-selected loose tea and whiskeys (not to mention the live Celtic music!). Our mission is to provide a unique, stress-free dining atmosphere where friends come together. Our warm, attentive service in a lively, fun atmosphere makes you feel right at home.
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View upcoming events
View our calendar of upcoming events including live music and afternoon tea.
Pub Events
Order from the pub
Online ordering from the kitchen is available through toast for pick up.
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Shop Our store
Shop Granny McCarthy's fresh baked goods and mixes.
Shop the Store
A Hundred Thousand Welcomes
Since I grew up in Northern Ireland, in the village of Lambeg in County Antrim (10 miles from Belfast) where the influence of both Irish and Scottish cultures, cuisine and humour were fairly equal, it’s appropriate that my pub and restaurant would reflect this upbringing and background. We opened Granny McCarthy’s Tea Room and bakery back in 1997 to share the hospitality, foods and culture that I grew up with. The idea of growing the cafe into a pub was always a possibility in the back of my mind.
For almost 15 years, the Cafe grew from a Bakery & Tea Room into a restaurant — minus the alcohol — following trends of great cafes like Betty’s Tea Room in Harrowgate in Northern England and the Avoca Cafe in Ireland.
Any guest or visitor to my house in Lambeg, County Antrim, had to be served a pot of tea and some kind of home baked treat. My Granny McCarthy, who did a lot of my rearing, made sure I knew the proper way to make the tea.
I was accustomed to providing hospitality (even at an early age) to anybody who came to my house. The origins of hospitality and recipes used at Granny McCarthy’s came from my upbringing, baking, and the personalities of my Mother and Grandmother — all the lessons and priorities I learned from my family.
In 2013, McCarthy’s morphed into McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub and Whiskey Bar — adding the Red Stag emblem from the McCarthy Coat of Arms to the name. The name change indicated our intention to keep our customers’ favourites, but we also had a vision to significantly expand our offerings.
We created our menu to become that of a true British Isles style Gastro Pub and Restaurant — retaining the best qualities of the original Granny McCarthy’s Restaurant while adding more great family favourites and dishes inspired by Irish and Scottish cuisines.
The evolution is a unique blend of pub and restaurant with the desserts, breads and teas of a traditional Irish Tea Room in the space of a great destination — complemented by an amazing collection of whiskey, beer, and cocktails. Slainte!
the heartfelt
origins of our recipes
Many of our original recipes came from a bundle of handwritten notes from my mother’s handbag that I found when she died. Many other recipes came from family members or friends.
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Hey, I'm Neville,
The founder and great manifester behind Red Stag Pub & Donegal Square.
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At age 11, I sold a farmer’s wife a bra in the Ladies Dress Shop that my Mum ran in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. So began my entrepreneurial adventure. Fairly early on I knew a career involving entrepreneurship, sales, and being around people was in the cards for me.
Growing up in Lambeg, a small village eight miles from Belfast, I was reared partly by my Granny McCarthy while my Mum went to work. My Mum and Dad had gone to work early in life with no opportunity for advanced education because of their family circumstances and the outbreak of World War II. Even though my parents didn’t have an abundance of money, there was always food on the table. Great breads, scones and baked goods were always part of my upbringing.
Sports have always been a huge part of my life, and because of my love for them I managed to get a Grammar School Education by receiving a scholarship (which also enabled me to participate in all the sports I enjoyed). When I first came to the USA to live, following a trans-Atlantic field hockey romance, I was drawn to the idea of importing the things from Ireland and the UK that I missed the most. Following a period of experimenting with importing tweeds and knitwear for wholesale, I realized there was potential for a business in the Lehigh Valley. The ultimate goal for my wife and I (I married a local woman, Linda Shay, the same woman from the trans-Atlantic field hockey romance back in 1978) was to create a comfortable, friendly, warm atmosphere with a rich cultural experience — as if you were visiting Ireland.
